Baghdad Central Post Office Building

Rifat Chadirji’s work expresses an essential Iraqi identity revisited by international modernity.

Caecilia Pieri

The Central Post Office symbolizes the many buildings in Baghdad designed by Rifat Chadirji, a major 20th century Iraqi architect. Completed in 1972, the Post Office was heavily damaged and looted in 2003—and then repaired only in a minimal way—a state in which it remains to this day. Chadirji studied in London in the late 1940s, returning to Iraq to teach and establish his practice. In 1986 he received the Aga Khan Chairman's Award for Lifetime Achievements.